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#Post#: 43--------------------------------------------------
2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: waveletter
Date: May 19, 2012, 11:07 am
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Hello everyone:
Yesterday morning I sat for the Metaphysics exam. Not
particularly confident about my preparation on this topic, I
left early, brought my printed-out notes on 5 topics (personal
identity, counterfactual causation, universals, substance, and
vague objects), and right away got stuck in some nasty traffic.
Great: Looks like I should have studied for the determinism
question as well. Anyway, I worked my way past a multi-vehicle
fender-bender and got to the community college parking lot about
45 minutes early, time enough to flip through my notes and make
some final personal excuses to myself.
But, it turned out that the exam was quite straightforward. I
worked on questions 2, 4, and 9: counterfactuals, personal
identity, and vague objects. As usual, my handwriting started
out moderately ugly in the beginning and quickly degraded into
almost illegible scratches on the exam sheets. I was able to
grind out answers, though, and felt pretty good, but drained, by
1 P.M.
I'm playing Aristotelian scholar right now. The exam for The
Philosopher is next Thursday, the 24th, near the end of the line
for this year. When I get some time, I'll publish some of my
notes for these exams on the forum. If you need some relief, you
might check out some of S. Peter Davis's 3 Minute Philosophy
(rated R, for mature audiences only, by the way) tube videos:
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOCmJevigw
Good luck to you all on the exams you have left! --Ron
#Post#: 44--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: CaseyEnos
Date: May 19, 2012, 11:56 am
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Good luck with Aristotle...
I'm curious as to how long your answers typically come out to
be; I found myself filling up the entire answer books plus
supplementary pages and sometimes I wondered if I let myself
get sidetracked. Do you draw up outlines or anything, or just go
right into writing?
Do you know, by chance, when the results are typically
published?
#Post#: 45--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: waveletter
Date: May 19, 2012, 3:55 pm
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Hi Casey:
I almost always fill the one book. On Epistemology last year, I
went a couple pages into the supplemental book. I try to divide
things almost evenly by time, so it works out that the answers
are just about all the same length. On this Metaphysics paper, I
finished my third answer on the middle of the last page, with
just about 5 minutes left. I spent that time fixing little
punctuation problems and the like.
Our exam center allows only 3 pens. I take one nice felt tip,
but I don't use it much, because I get so intense that I destroy
the tip. I find that a ballpoint is best, like the Uniball
Jetstream, which is kinda thick and has a rubber sleeve, so that
when I start sweating (15 minutes in, typically), I can still
grip it. My main backup is a big, fat ballpoint that I use when
I can't hold the more slender tools.
If you're able to fill the book, I'd say you're doing quite
well.
I don't begin with an outline, although I have wondered if that
would be helpful. What I do is I try to give my basic answer in
the first paragraph, define terms and sources in the next few
paragraphs, and then cover the main argument for my answer in
the first para. After that, time permitting, I'll collect some
counter-arguments, and then, some counter-counters, if I can. I
try to have a summary sentence or short para. at the end.
For general writing, we were taught, in the 6th grade or so, the
journalistic method of the six W's: Who, What, When, Where, Why,
and So What? Sometimes keeping these in mind while you work on
sample answers is a good device. It works well for those quoted
statement type of problems. On this 2012 Metafiz, the personal
identity question was one of these: "'If I lose all of my
memories, then how can I still be me?' Discuss." So, I started
off with a Who-What-When answer: "This statement represents a
position on the philosophical problem of personal identity, one
that might be asserted by someone endorsing the continued
consciousness, or memory criterion for what constitutes a
person. This was first put forward by Locke (Essay, II.27)...."
I then went on to explain personal identity (numerical
identity), qualitative identity, and gave examples (identical
twins, me when I was a boy, me when I'm now old, etc.). I think
just doing this gets you a middle-pass mark. Then I considered
the alternative animal-based theories, basically dismissed them,
and went on to problem cases for Locke. I forgot on the exam who
it was that came up with the Brave Officer example, but I just
wrote "I forget whether it was Reid or Butler"). [OK, I just
Googled that and it was Reid.] I tried to say how Locke could
avoid that problem and then considered whether memory is a
necessary, sufficient, or both criterion. I argued somewhat
awkwardly that it was necessary but not sufficient for personal
identity. I said the continued consciousness account was pretty
strong, overall. I might have been a bit too historical on this
one.
In my first year, the exam marks came out very late, well into
the Fall. I didn't even get mine until January; must have been
some snafu. Last year though, UoL seemed to pick itself up, and
the results were available on line (they send you a personal
link) at the end of July, which is pretty fast. The paper
results come in the mail somewhat later. You still have one more
exam? Thanks! --Ron
#Post#: 46--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: CaseyEnos
Date: May 19, 2012, 4:19 pm
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No, I sat Logic, Plato and Epistemology this year, so I am all
done, which was a huge relief...So, for better or worse, I am a
quarter done with the degree, even under the new system.
Thanks for the advice.
#Post#: 48--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: Analytical
Date: May 24, 2012, 11:55 am
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--- Quote from: waveletter link ---
>
> When I get some time, I'll publish some of my notes for these
exams on the forum. If you need some relief, you might check out
some of S. Peter Davis's 3 Minute Philosophy (rated R, for
mature audiences only, by the way) tube videos:
--- End Quote ---
Hello Ron,
Oh, yes, please do post some of your notes on Metaphysics. I'm
taking it this coming year, and would help a lot if I knew how
others work with their modules. I'll be posting some of my notes
on Epistemology as soon as I can, but first I need to relax and
enjoy a couple of days without thinking much about philosophy.
I'm sure others feel like me too, that during exams your mind is
saturated to the point that just the thought of going back and
revisiting your notes makes you sick. Haha.
Oh, and, good to know you follow P. Davies' videos. Some of them
are hilarious! I especially like that one about Aristotle... I
cracked up the first time, when he mentioned the essence of Adam
Sandler. lol
Regards
#Post#: 49--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: waveletter
Date: May 25, 2012, 12:25 am
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Hi Manuel:
I'll try to get some more Metaphysics and probably some
Aristotle notes up this weekend. It's a holiday weekend here in
the US, and I'm out at our place in the Sierra foothills. So,
I've got some time, but I'm also totally burned out after having
sat the Aristotle exam this morning. Right! I think Peter
Davis's Aristotle 3 Minutes is one of the best. Actually,
there's quite a bit of actual philosophy in those things, and,
quite a bit of "specialized" English vocabulary too, especially
if it's not your first language.
I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what to do next
year. New programme, old programme, what if there really is no
Post-Aristotle? no Phil of Maths? maybe just mail it in? etc.,
etc. Thanks & have a pleasant time off! --Ron
#Post#: 50--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: CaseyEnos
Date: May 25, 2012, 5:42 pm
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I hear you-I always felt like just going home and taking a nap
after my exams this year. I guess we should all be about done by
now, right? Congrats to everyone!
I am also a little concerned about the classes that have been
cut out of the new program, Philosophy of Science was one I was
especially interested in taking...
#Post#: 51--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: Analytical
Date: May 26, 2012, 12:21 pm
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Yes, it's a damn shame that they cut out the most interesting
branches of philosophy from the final round and left the ones
I'm not so interested in (Aesthetics, Philosophy of Religion and
Political Philosophy). I had already bought myself a big book on
the Phil of Math:
HTML http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Handbook-Philosophy-Mathematics-Handbooks/dp/0195325923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338052626&sr=8-1<br
/>and I was just about to buy another big book on the Phil of
Science:
HTML http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Science-The-Central-Issues/dp/0393971759/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338052713&sr=1-4<br
/>I think I will buy this last one, regardless of whether they
cut
the module out or not.
Oh, and yes, congratulations to everyone on finishing another
year in the course!
Regards.
#Post#: 52--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2012 Metaphysics exam
DIR By: waveletter
Date: May 26, 2012, 4:32 pm
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Hi Manuel:
I had a look at the Oxford Handbook of Phil of Maths, on that
link you posted. Looks like an update to modern debates of the
venerable Benacerraf and Putnam collection. I ordered a copy,
just to be safe! Not sure that we'll be able to use these
directly for UoL, but it looks like a very nice collection of
papers nonetheless. Thanks for that link! --Ron
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